


Earthly Days

by dirty_diana



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Daxamite culture, F/M, Krypton vs Daxam, Romantic Comedy, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-23 07:49:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10715262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirty_diana/pseuds/dirty_diana
Summary: He can have all her earthly days. Kara and Mon-El get engaged, and it goes about as well as you'd expect. It's Mon-El's fault, mostly.





	Earthly Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sheeana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheeana/gifts).



> With thanks to my beta llaras. I was inordinately excited to see a request for cultural differences and Kryptonian/Daxamite wedding traditions, so I might have gone a little overboard. Please enjoy!
> 
> (Slightly modified from the pre-reveals version. Recipient, you are welcome to request a copy of the original, should you somehow miss it!)

Winn was the first to tease her about it, his text message appending the link to the Daily Planet's article with a dozen emojis of crying laughter. By the time she'd heard bad jokes from Alex, Maggie, James, and faced J'onn's disapproving face at the DEO, Kara was feeling extra-ready to punch something. As hard as she could.

"Hey, everybody." Mon-El entered the command area, exchanging a complicated series of fistbumps with Winn as he passed his station.

Kara huffed a little underneath her breath. It took only a small burst of superspeed to whisk them both into the training room, and then Mon-El was standing in front of her. He offered no resistance, his eyes widening with confusion.

"Uh. Am I in trouble?"

"Are you in trouble?" Kara repeated, disbelievingly. "You bet, mister! What is this?"

Mon-El frowned at the object Kara held in her hand, his forehead wrinkling. "Winn actually showed me smartphones months ago?"

"Not the phone. This." Kara thrust the screen towards him, trying not to squeeze the phone too hard despite her irritation. She'd broken four phones already this year, and she was pretty sure the lady at the store was getting suspicious.

Mon-El peered more closely. "SuperValor is real! and headed to a Super weddin--hey, that's a great picture of us."

The photo at the top of the webpage was a paparazzi photo, taken on a crowded street. She remembered the day, weeks ago, when they'd been called to a blazing fire in an apartment building. Kara had put it out by spinning the nearest clouds into rain. Mon-El had been in charge of rescuing the stragglers from the building, including a wriggling litter of week-old Black Labradors. The photographer had captured Mon-El staring in puzzlement at the armful of puppies, as the rain started to fall. Kara was hovering in the air slightly off to the side, a smile on her face as she watched Mon-El and the dogs.

She looked ridiculous, Kara thought.

She looked like she was in love.

Which wasn't the point, right now. "Did you tell Vicki Vale we were getting married?" 

"Yes?" Mon-El answered, his pitch rising slightly in his uncertainty. "I mean, uh. Only because she asked? She was there when we stopped that gala robbery, asked me a few questions. She said our fans have been hoping for this for months. Apparently, there are websites?"

Kara groaned. "I don't care about the websites. You spoke to a reporter about us!"

"But she seemed really happy for us," Mon-El said, and now he seemed genuinely upset. He looked away from her, hiding his eyes and concealing the flicker of aggravation she'd seen.

"Mon-El. Aside from the whole secret identity thing? Which you really need to work on? I thought we agreed not to tell anyone outside of family."

"We did, but that was a whole week ago."

Kara sighed, and the furrow in Mon-El's upturned lip grew deeper. 

"This is good news, Kara. You're lucky I didn't throw a parade! With musicians. And flags with our faces on them. On Daxam--"

"Yes. You told me already." Kara frowned, as she processed Mon-El's last words. "Are you going to want a parade for our wedding?"

"Of course not." Mon- El hesitated. "Uh, maybe?"

"Remember when I agreed to marry you, I said a small, tasteful wedding? Tasteful.That means no gossip reporters, okay?"

"Okay." Mon-El moved closer, sighing as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "For the record, I think I agreed to marry you. Otherwise you were just going to keep begging, and it was going to get embarrassing, and--"

"Mon-El. Be serious."

Mon-El pulled his mouth into an exaggerated straight line. "I'm perfectly serious. I surrender to your terms. Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

Kara leaned into Mon-El, exhaling gently against his skin, in the dip of his collarbone. "It means no parades, too."

"But maybe some other Daxamite traditions? And Kryptonian ones too, of course," he added hastily. 

"As long as they're quiet traditions," Kara acquiesced, then paused thoughtfully. "Did Daxam have any? Quiet wedding traditions? Because all the ones you've told me about seem to involve fireworks and binge drinking."

"Are you saying no to the fireworks?" Mon-El asked her.

"Oh, Rao."

*

"We've only been engaged for nine days, and he's already being ridiculous." Kara sat down on the park bench, half a block down the street from CatCo, and cradled a warm paper coffee cup in her lap, with both hands.

James shrugged bemusedly at her, as he took a sip from his own cup. "You might want to prepare yourself for more of that, Kara. Like a lifetime's worth."

Kara could feel a stupid grin creeping across her face. "Yeah. I guess." 

"Congratulations. Again."

"To you too. And Lucy. I mean, I'm glad that you two got back together. And that I didn't completely ruin your life."

James smiled at her, his face creasing into happy lines. "Never."

They sat for a few moments like that, under the National City lunchtime sunshine. Downtown office workers hurried like ants back and forth across the plaza, weaving between the winding food truck lines.

"But can you believe he gave the scoop to Vicki Vale, of all people? That so-called reporter just prints blatant lies. Did you see the time she claimed Supergirl got into a fight with Batman? I don't know how she came up with that! I've never even been to Gotham."

"Maybe he should give the scoop to CatCo next time," James said.

"You're making fun of me," Kara grumbled, under her breath.

"Nope. I would actually really like the exclusive." James was still smiling, his expression sincere. "SuperValor's first wedding pics? We'll break the internet."

Kara rolled her eyes at the mention of the internet nickname. "James, come on. I thought you were on my side."

"Always, Kara. I'm just saying, think about it. CatCo will pay. Usually the rate is ten grand, but there's some wiggle room if you wanted to negotiate."

Kara buried her face behind her coffee cup, groaning. "I still think you're making fun of me."

*

"Sometimes I wish Mon-El could be more like Maggie."

Alex raised her eyebrows, as she exchanged an amused glance with her girlfriend across their shared booth seat. The bar was pretty quiet at six on a Tuesday afternoon, with a handful of patrons scattered at the tables and Dolly crooning on the sound system. "In what way, exactly?" 

"You know," Kara gestured uncertainly with her club soda, "Low-key. Mon-El doesn't even know the meaning of low-key! Now he wants us to ride into the wedding ceremony on matching plekti."

Maggie frowned, leaning forward. "What in the world are plekti?"

"They're kind of like elephants? With wings? But it was illegal to export them from Daxam. So they're probably extinct now."

"Look at it this way," Maggie suggested. "At least he's willing to do all the work. Wedding planning looks like the worst."

"Oh." Alex turned to Maggie, wearing a carefully neutral expression. "Really?"

Maggie smiled fondly at her. "Yeah. Eloping would definitely be the way to go. Just me, my girl, and two friends who can keep a secret."

"So definitely not Mon-El. Or me, I guess." Kara said, sighing sadly. Maggie shrugged in response, taking another sip of her beer as she patted her girlfriend on the thigh.

Alex sighed. "Well. At least now you don't have to think up a cute way to tell Mom, right?"

Kara winced. "Oh, Rao. Um. I have to go."

"You didn't--" Alex began, but the rest of her sentence was swallowed by the sound of National City rushing by beneath the clouds.

*

"So nice of you to finally stop by," Eliza said, but she was smiling.

"I'm so sorry!" Kara dropped to her Earth mother's tiled kitchen floor, and drew her into a close hug. "We were going to tell you! We just wanted to make a funny video for Instagram, and then things were busy at work, and we were going to do it this weekend--"

"Kara," Eliza said gently. "My beautiful daughter. It's not what I expected to read this morning, but it's okay. You don't have to apologise. I'm glad you're happy."

"Really?" Kara asked. She rubbed suddenly wet eyes with the back of her hand. 

"Yes, really. Now I'm going to get some pie out of the fridge and you're going to tell me exactly how he proposed. Mon-El made an embarrassing public spectacle, didn't he? I still remember the incident with the National City Christmas tree."

"No spectacle. But I didn't really give him a chance."

"Oh, my daughter's a real twenty-first century girl," Eliza said, sounding pleased. She bustled around the kitchen, placing the pie and plates on the table. "I promised to save a piece for Mrs. Eddersley next door, so don't eat it all."

"I only did that one time," Kara insisted, as she cut a huge piece and shoveled a heaping forkful of custard and meringue into her mouth. "And I wasn't planning to propose. It just kind of. Slipped out?"

"And now you're getting married in August. Baby, that's wonderful."

"Uh-uh." Kara shook her head as she chewed, swallowed, and grabbed another forkful. "We haven't set a date yet."

Eliza frowned in confusion, as she began to eat her pie at a more delicate pace. "Oh? But Mon-El actually sent me some emails right before you got here."

"Emails? About our wedding date?"

"And he sent me some sketches? Kara, you know I've always tried to be respectful of your traditions, but I have to say that this headdress for the mother of the bride looks somewhat--"

"Rao."

"--heavy. Do you think it would be okay for me to wear a less ornate version? I know Jeremiah's not here." A thousand and one expressions passed over Eliza's face in an instant before settling into a small, sad smile. "Your Kryptonian parents can't be there either, so it'll just be me."

"Mom. You're more than enough. And you can wear whatever you want." Kara jumped involuntarily, as a bang sounded in her ears from miles away, followed by screams. "I have to go."

"Of course." Eliza waved towards the open kitchen window. "Go."

Kara scooped up one last bite of pie, and then Supergirl took to the skies.

*

The desert outside National City stretched on for hundreds of miles. It was a familiar sight, yet different every time she saw it, as the sands shifted with every storm and passing traveler.

This was the first time, though, that she'd ever witnessed a sand dune resting on nothing. The odd sight had risen out of the landscape overnight, a small, vanishing mound seemingly built on air.

"Spaceship?" Kara asked J'onn, when he arrived at the hastily erected DEO command tent.

"Most likely," J'onn said. He paused, head tilted as he listened to something across his earpiece. "We'll have a better idea when we figure out how to counteract the invisibility shielding and get inside. Winn and the team are working on it."

"Are those guys that I found going to be okay? That ATV was completely wrecked."

J'onn nodded. "They're lucky you heard their crash. They could have been out here for days."

"Hard to avoid a crash if you can't see the other vehicle. I mean, so I assume. I don't drive."

"Who needs to drive when you can fly?" J'onn asked.

"Exactly!" Kara tugged on her cape and shifted on her toes, smiling brightly. "Hey, J'onn? We don't have to talk about this if it's too upsetting, but I was just wondering what your wedding--"

J'onn cut her off with a single, growled word. "No."

"No? But I haven't even asked you yet."

"I'm psychic, remember? I will be at your wedding, Kara. But I do not need to be involved in anything that happens beforehand. Do you understand me?"

Kara nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good." J'onn nodded as he began to walk away. "For the record, the ceremony was private. The Martian bond is sacred. It requires no audience."

"That's so romantic!" Kara called after him.

*

"Need a hand?"

Winn grunted in response. His face contorted as he made another attempt to scramble up the steep embankment where the unseen alien pod had become covered in sandy dirt and merged with the landscape. His hands slipped from the surface, and his feet stumbled backwards a few paces. "I'm fine."

"Winn," Kara muttered in exasperation, before she picked him up by the collar of his shirt and flew upwards, depositing him gently on the invisible roof that seemed to slope towards the east. "This a good spot?"

"It's great. Thanks." Winn knelt to begin his work, carefully examining a small patch by touch. "How've you been? Did you read Mon-El the riot act?"

"What? No! There was no riot act. We're just in the middle of, um, a respectful exchange of ideas. For the wedding."

"I'm sure whatever you come up with will be great," Winn reassured her. "As long as you don't steal the Star Trek idea. That's going to be mine and Lyra's thing."

Kara giggled. She was still floating easily in the air above the crash site, watching as Winn worked. "Star Trek? Really?"

"Hey." Winn glanced up from his tablet screen just long enough to give Kara a half-hearted glare. "Star Trek is a classic tale of humans and aliens. Working together, striving for a better galaxy."

"Sounds like something you would come up with." 

"It was Lyra's idea, actually. So get your Vulcan salute ready, because the costumes are going to be epic." Winn grinned at the thought. "You've got time, though. Star Havenites believe in long engagements."

"That sounds very practical." Krypton had been similar. Kara remembered what had seemed an endless calendar of supervised teas and lectures on the importance of honesty and respect between husbands and wives, before Jor-El and Lara had finally married. She'd been seven or eight, fidgeting restlessly in her best clothes.

Perhaps her parents would be disappointed that she was rushing things. It wasn't exactly the kind of question Kara could ask the hologram.

"Yep. That's Lyra. She'll make a great wife. And it will be nice to have a family, you know? Stop," Winn added firmly, as Kara opened her mouth to speak.

"What?"

"You were about to say something mushy about how I already have a family. Stop."

"I wasn't!" Kara protested, unconvincingly.

"You were, and it's not necessary. I have science to do. There's no crying in science!" Winn waved his arms at her in a shooing motion. "Go do Supergirl things. I'll let you know when I have some information."

Kara took off, accelerating as gently as she could to avoid disturbing Winn's research area, or his precarious balance. Then she shot into the sky, cutting a wispy streak through the clouds.

*

"Wait," Kara said, watching as Lena slid her pedicured feet into a pair of snakeskin heels. There wasn't a single item in this store that Kara could dream of affording, but she didn't want to ruin Lena's outing, so she hadn't mentioned it. "You've been married?"

"Come on, that must have been in CatCo's file on me." Lena strutted to the mirror and frowned thoughtfully at her reflection. "I was nineteen the first time. He was a musician. My mother was horribly embarrassed and didn't speak to me for a year. Shockingly, it didn't last long."

"The second time?" 

"He was a friend of Lex's when I met him. He's in jail now," Lena said, sighing. "Enough about me! Did you hear that Supergirl's just gotten engaged too? Must be something in the air in National City."

"Yeah, that's quite a coincidence." Kara shifted uncomfortably, looking down at her feet. She'd chosen a simple pair of flats to try on, and now she sat in them, watching Lena shop. "But she seems really happy, I think."

They lapsed into silence after that, as Lena shuffled through a pile of shoes with ruthless efficiency. A few paces behind them, the saleswoman hovered.

Lena turned a dark-coloured pair over in her hands, then looked up, and smiled. "The dresses aren't going to be atrocious, are they? The last time I was a bridesmaid, I looked like a lopsided flamingo."

"I really hope not," Kara said, thinking of the small tower of bridal magazines currently sitting on Mon-El's side of the bed. "Besides, I'm sure you made a beautiful, um. Flamingo."

Lena smiled at her, then sat down beside her on the store bench and enveloped Kara in a brief hug. "Mike seems like a nice guy. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones, and only get married the once."

"I don't think Mike's people really believe in divorce," Kara said, thoughtfully.

Lena nodded, her eyes sympathetic. "Catholic?"

*

"Mr. Matthews indicated approximately two hundred?" The hotel salesperson was a middle-aged Latina woman, her long brown hair pulled up into a neat, businesslike ponytail. She navigated the hotel's outdoor cobblestone walkway with ease, despite the sky high heels she wore below her pantsuit.

"Two hundred? People?"

Misreading Kara's hesitation, Alana smiled brightly at her. "Our largest outdoor dining tent accepts a maximum of three hundred, unfortunately. But if you wished to select one of our indoor ballrooms, we can accommodate twice as many."

"Uh." Kara wondered if Alana's face ever hurt from smiling too hard. Her own carefully polite smile felt like it would crack any minute. "Can Mr. Matthews and I discuss this for a moment?"

"Of course!" Alana waved at the expansive scenery behind her, drenched in afternoon sunshine. "Take a walk around the lake. Take some pictures. I'll be in my office if you need me."

"You don't like it?" Mon-El asked her. Kara steered him down the path as quickly as she could without attracting stares. He looked worried, and Kara sighed. A seagull flew past her shoulder and dove into the water, honking loudly.

"Two hundred people! We're the last of our races, Mon-El. We don't even know two hundred people."

Mon-El's upper lip scrunched up in a defensive pout. "I'm a bartender. And a superhero. I actually know a lot of people."

"And you want them all to come to our wedding?" Kara asked. The alien bar was a fun place to go to, but she couldn't quite imagine all of the rough clientele as wedding guests.

"Yeah?" Now Mon-El simply looked confused. "Isn't that the point of a wedding? To have witnesses? And bodyguards, but that probably won't be necessary--"

"Nobody is fighting anybody at our wedding!"

"--since you're Supergirl and all." Mon-El whispered this last into her ear, glancing at the elderly couple that was making their way past them on the grass. Mon-El smiled innocently at them both, waving hello.

"What about a compromise?" Kara asked him. "We talked about having it at Eliza's house, right? She can fit, maybe, forty people in her backyard."

"Kara, that sounds like the exact opposite of a compromise." 

She breathed in a deep sigh. "But we could could rent chairs."

"How about this? Why don't we slow down, and take some time to think about it." Mon-El was using his superhero voice, the one that he used to soothe unruly crowds and frightened moms. Kara was the one who had taught him that voice, and it wouldn't work on her. She glared, but Mon-El didn't wilt or back down.

"Come on." Mon-El took her hand, his fingers warm and smooth against hers. "In the meantime, we'll just take a walk around? We can look at the water, and the clouds, and the penguins."

"Those are ducks," Kara said, but she let Mon-El begin to guide her towards the far side of the sparkling, crescent-shaped lake.

Mon-El frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

It was a beautiful day, and Kara began to relax as they walked. She spotted teams of young ducks at the edge of the water, peeping softly to each other. and extended her hearing outward, listening for the splashing sounds of water as the birds paddled and dove.

"Wait a second. Where are we going?"

"To the house of the boats." Mon-El turned and smiled charmingly at her, not letting go of her hand. The low wooden structure behind him stood at the end of the path. It appeared in disuse. "Their website says they've built a new one. It will be quiet here."

"Why exactly do we need quiet?"

Mon-El stopped at the door, and pulled Kara closer, lifting a hand to cradle her neck and draw her in for a kiss. "Can't imagine." He kissed her again.

"Mon-El!" Kara squawked indignantly, but she didn't pull away. "What if Alana comes looking for us?"

"She's not going to look. She's going to think that the beautiful lady," here Mon-El kissed her gently between her brows, "with the grumpy crinkle on her face dragged me home to yell at me."

"I don't have a crinkle," Kara protested.

"You have a little crinkle. Very small." Mon-El kissed her again, a soft, open-mouthed kiss that left her gasping. The hand that had been tangled in hers loosed her fingers to rest in the small of her back.

"Mon-El."

"That is my name."

"Mon-El, you--" Kara sighed. "You're a bad influence on me."

"I don't know why you would think that," Mon-El murmured against the curve of her jaw. She could feel his heart beating in his rib cage on his right side. Could hear her own, pounding just as loudly. "Come here."

*

"I've got good news and bad news," Winn announced, aa he gestured to the large display screens in the DEO headquarters.

J'onn sighed. "Mr. Schott. We have discussed this."

"Right, bad news first." Winn swiped his screen, then waved at the star charts in front of him. "We managed to enter the invisible ship that Kara found. And also convinced it not to vaporise me as an intruder, so. Yay. We downloaded the astronavigational histories, and we're pretty sure it's arriving from this star system. It's got one known habitable planet, fourth from the sun. Called Aiogh."

"Uh oh," Mon-El said.

Alex looked worriedly from Winn to Mon-El. "Why uh oh? What kind of beings live on Aiogh?" 

"Well, no one knows. We don't really know a lot about them."

J'onn nodded agreement. "They have interstellar travel, but they don't use it, or allow anyone else to visit them. The few that do leave usually end up becoming mercenaries, or assassins." 

"They're not good at anything else, as far as anyone can tell." Mon-El shrugged. "I know this because my parents have hired a few. They're expensive, though."

"Any chance one of your parents hired this one?" Alex asked, and threw up her hands defensively when Kara glared at her. "What? Mon-El knows his mom's a witch."

"I don't think so? That didn't work before, and my mother is well on her way to Daxam by now. Besides, Kara has no shortage of mortal enemies."

Kara sighed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, babe."

"It could be refugees," she pointed out. "If Aiogh is such a restrictive place, somebody might have needed to get away from it." 

The group fell quiet at Kara's suggestion. There never seemed to be any shortage of terrible planets, or beings that would risk everything to make it to the relative safety of Earth.

"You said there was good news?" J'onn prompted Winn.

Winn nodded, still looking sadly pensive at the mention of refugees. "Yes, uh. It's only good news if it was assassins, I guess. Based on the atmospheric capabilities, there's almost no way that thing carried more than one being this far."

"Good work, Mr. Schott," J'onn said, and Winn glowed underneath the compliment. "Keep us posted."

"Kara, be careful. There could be a hired killer out there."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Mon-El promised, then took a step back as Kara glowered darkly in his direction. "I mean, I'll watch as she defends herself. Which she is perfectly capable of."

"Don't you forget it," Kara said, as she headed to the training room.

*

The dressmaker was Lyncorian, a short, squat being who could have passed for human, save for the faint traces of purple and teal feathers that ran up the back of her neck, above her shirt. Today her feathers were lifted slightly off her skin, exposing the darker colours at the base, and Kara felt herself apologising for what felt like the millionth time.

"I'm sorry," she said again. Yellow sand fell away from her hair as she shifted, onto the pristine store floor. "There was an accident?"

It hadn't been an accident so much as a sudden storm, and a surfer in trouble off the coast, but Kara couldn't exactly explain that part. She just hoped that the Lyncorian's senses couldn't pick up the lingering seawater smell that clung to her.

"Late," the dressmaker complained, the vowel stretched into a squawking sound. "Always late, you."

"I've only been late twice," Kara protested, and the seamstress squawked again.

"Exact. Appointments, two. Late, two." 

"I really am sorry." 

The seamstress circled around Kara with pins and tailor's chalk, muttering to herself in her native language. Kara barely noticed when she was being spoken to again, until the instistent tickle of a pin being jabbed against her side got her attention. "Crook?"

Kara smiled, silently hoping that the pin hadn't broken off against her skin, and held out her left elbow.

"No, crook." There was another tickle. "Cook, you?"

"Oh! Mon-El does most of the cooking. He's getting pretty good at it."

"Nice boy," the seamstress agreed, but she was still scowling. "Cook, no. Punctual, no. Good job?"

"Um." Kara frowned. "Am I being interviewed? I do some freelance work. It allows me to choose the stories I believe in, and--"

"Job, no. Pretty, okay." The dressmaker was frowning at Kara's hair, limp and coarse after her dive into the ocean. She tugged at the sleeves of Kara's unfinished gown, as if noting Kara's broad shoulders, before sighing resignedly. "He is a nice boy. Daxamite, yes. Nice anyway. Take care, you?"

Kara wasn't sure if this last was a request or a threat, but she nodded obediently.

*

"You're just in time." Mon-El greeted Kara with a kiss as she entered the apartment. He was wearing the apron she'd gotten him for his Earth birthday, decorated with tiny owls wearing chef hats. Kara kicked off her shoes, and tilted her head to kiss him back.

"In time for dinner?" she asked him hopefully.

"There's pizza in the oven," Mon-El said, and Kara grinned at him. "And I need an assistant. Taste this."

Kara frowned at the half-full glass that had been thrust into her hand, and sniffed it carefully. The dominating scent was fruity, lemon mixed with something sweeter, but she eyed Mon-El suspiciously, looking at the liquor bottles lined up on the counter behind him. "Uh. Why?"

"Our signature cocktail," Mon-El answered, as if it should be obvious. "For the wedding. I think I've almost figured out the recipe."

She hesitated, but Mon-El was watching her carefully. Human-made alcohol wouldn't affect her anyway, Kara thought, and she took a sip. "It's good. Maybe it's a little sour?"

Mon-El beamed. "Most humans don't like things as sweet as we do. I made a drink for the non-humans, too." 

He took the glass out of Kara's hand, and quickly replaced it with a glass of liquid that was a darker shade of orange, the colour gradually turning to deep red where it settled at the bottom. He picked up another filled glass, holding it close to her own. 

"Come on," Mon-El said, encouragingly. "On Daxam, it's rude to refuse a toast."

Kara sighed, half-heartedly clinking their glasses together. "I don't know if J'onn and Clark are going to drink a special alien cocktail?"

"Oh yeah, because Kryptonians would never sully their perfect bodies with poison. Clark's already given me that lecture. More than once." Mon-El rolled his eyes.

"Clark just worries," Kara said, taking a distracted gulp from her glass. The drink was delicious, sweet and smooth, and she immediately took another.

"That I'm not good enough for you? Yes, that has been pretty clear. You know, for a guy who left Krypton when he was just a baby, Clark really has the condescending thing down."

Kara put her arm around her fiancé's shoulders, noting the flush to his cheeks. "Um. Just how many of these test drinks have you had?"

"A few," Mon-El mumbled into her ear. "I was waiting for you."

Kara patted him soothingly on the back of his neck. "Okay, how about we forget about Clark? Didn't you say there was pizza?"

Hours later the pizza tray was empty, resting on the coffee table. They had settled onto the couch, limbs tangled together underneath her favourite blanket. Their empty drink glasses both stood on the pizza tray, leaving circles of condensation as the ice melted. 

"I can't believe you got me blunk aden," Kara complained sleepily. "Drunk abin. Again! Drunk again."

Mon-El laughed at her, bowing his head to kiss her on the cheek. "You're cute when you're drunk."

"The room is finning. Spinning." She pouted, and paused, trying to catch hold of her inebriated thoughts. "Clark has a theory that if we could manage to spin the Earth duckwards -- backwards -- that maybe we could make time go backwards."

"That sounds like the kind of theory Clark would come up with." 

Kara sighed. "Just promise me you won't try to fight Clark at our wedding?"

"Don't start none, won't be none," Mon-El answered philosophically, and smiled at Kara's raised eyebrow. "I heard that at the bar. I promise to keep it non-violent. I mean, I'll try. You know that on Daxam, it wasn't considered much of a party unless someone started a brawl?"

"Okay, that's, um. I'm really glad we're not getting married on Daxam." Kara paused, thinking the information over. "Exactly how many wedding brawls have you been in?" 

"Six," Mon-El answered, confidently. "Uh, ty. Sixty or seventy?"

Kara buried her face in Mon-El's chest, giggling at him. "That's a lot of weddings."

"The nobility on Daxam didn't exactly have a lot else to do."

"I hope you weren't punched by too many gealous zrooms." Kara waved a hand at her drunken error and tried again. "Jealous grooms."

Mon-El made an unreadable face. "Yeah, we actually didn't have a whole lot of that on Daxam."

"Jealousy?" 

"Monogamy," Mon-El admitted. His body had become very still against hers, save for the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. He was braced for something, but Kara didn't know what.

"Oh. It wasn't really like that on Krypton. I don't think." She punctuated her sentences with soft arm pats that she hoped were reassuring, but Mon-El hadn't moved. He was probably just as intoxicated as she was, Kara realised, watching as all his emotions rose to the surface against his will. "Every planet is different. And that's, you know. It's fine."

"I just don't want you to worry that because I'm from Daxam, I can't be a a good husband."

"Mon-El, I swear I don't think that." She paused, thinking it over. " Have you been worrying about that this whole time? Cause I don't want you to think that because I'm from Krypton, I'm just waiting for you to mess up all the time."

Mon-El finally shifted, squeezing her closer with a relieved sigh. "No matter what Clark says?"

"No matter what," Kara agreed.

*

*

The train had derailed as it was speeding through the hilly countryside seventy-five miles north of National City. When Supergirl arrived minutes later, there was a fire just beginning to smoulder on the tracks. She took a deep breath, intending to put it out, but was distracted by the cries coming from inside the passenger cars.

"Supergirl!" 

The derailed train was still in motion, sliding down the hill towards a steep embankment. Kara abandoned the fire and swooped towards the far side of the train.

"Need some help?"

"Superman!" Kara shouted happily, as Clark flew into position beside her. Together their strength was enough to easily counter gravity and stop the train from sliding any further. In a few minutes, the fire was out. Kara and Clark carried each traveler from the train, depositing everyone carefully on the grass.

"Your purse, ma'am?"

"Thank you so much, Superman." Gratefully, the woman retrieved her purse from Clark's outstretched hand. "And you too, of course, Supergirl."

Kara rolled her eyes, as Clark lifted into the sky beside her to search for more passengers. "Did you come all this way just to steal my thunder?"

"Never." Clark grinned at her. "Maybe I just wanted to say hello."

Kara scanned the length of the train with her X-ray vision one last time. "I think it's clear."

"Me too. And, look. The emergency personnel are here."

A cheer went up, as Clark waved to the crowd, and then the two cousins flew away.

"You know," Kara said later, "if you want to say hello, you can just stop by my apartment. You don't have to wait for people to be in danger."

Clark made a face. They were standing on the roof of the tallest building in National City, with the city sprawled out below them and stretching to the horizon. "That's what Lois said."

Kara punched Clark lightly on the arm. "See! Lois is smart. And an excellent reporter, by the way. I read her column on corruption in the Metropolis police force, and it was great."

"I'll tell her you said that," Clark answered, with a small, proud smile.

"Great. I'll tell Mon-El you're coming to visit--"

Kara's voice trailed off mid-sentence. For a moment she thought she saw a familiar face in the streets below, but in an instant the impression had vanished.

"Everything okay?" Clark asked her worriedly.

"Yeah, I think so." Kara smiled at him, trying to shake the cold feeling that was suddenly creeping up her spine. "Just stop by soon, okay? It's getting harder to convince Mon-El that you really do like him."

Clark grumbled something under his breath that Kara chose not to hear.

"He's even promised not to try and fight you."

Clark's eyes widened in surprise, staring. "Mon-El wants to fight me?"

"I guess a little? I think it's a Daxamite thing." Kara breathed in a deep sigh. "Let's pretend I didn't say that."

"I asked the Fortress about Daxam," Clark said, darkly.

"Mon-El isn't like them."

"If you say so." Clark leaned in for a goodbye hug before lifting himself lightly off the roof. "Lois and I will see you at the wedding, Kara."

She fixed him with a friendly scowl. "Stop by before the wedding! Clark! Don't make me call your mom."

Clark waved, and then vanished into the cloud cover. Headed northeast, towards Metropolis.

*

The figures appeared one day on Winn's desk. They sat beside his Han Solo coffee mug, but no one seemed to know where they had come from. Even at small scale they were clearly identifiable. The plastic female figure wore a familiar red cape, holding hands with a male figure in a blue cape and top hat.

"I don't understand. Is it a children's toy?" Mon-El lifted it from Winn's desk, peering at the short spike extending from the bottom.

"It's a cake topper," Winn explained. "It goes on top of your, uh, wedding cake."

Mon-El frowned. "Wait, are cakes really the traditional wedding dessert on Earth? Kara wanted doughnuts."

"It's a cake," Kara insisted, grabbing the cake topper out of Mon-El's hand. Close up, the miniature Valor was at least an inch taller than Supergirl. "This is not to scale, by the way."

"Yes, you chose a cake made out of many doughnuts. Can we still put the tiny people on top?"

"Doughnuts sound delicious," Alex said, smiling encouragingly at her sister. "You've been getting all kinds of wedding-related fanmail lately."

Mon-El glanced up with interest. "Kara gets fanmail? Do I get fanmail?"

Alex shrugged. "Sure. Little kids write your names on the envelopes, and through the magic of bureaucracy it ends up here. Beatrice on the fourth floor has a filing system."

"She's also got an algorithm that searches Twitter for negative mentions of your names," Winn added. "That's how we knew Reactron was going to hit that music festival last month."

"Winn has a math crush on Beatrice."

"I do not have a math--"

"Do I get as much fanmail as Kara?" Mon-El interrupted.

Kara made a scoffing noise. "Definitely not!"

"You do get a lot more letters from adults than Kara does. Some of them are, uh--"

"Explicit," Alex finished, for Winn.

Kara grimaced. "Ew." 

"Hey." Mon-El leaned in to give Kara a quick kiss on the cheek, retrieving the cake topper from her hand with careful fingers. "You were right, Kara. This superhero stuff is extremely rewarding."

*

By the time Kara had dug a tip for the delivery man out of her wallet and closed the door, Mon-El was awake. He stumbled out of their bedroom, scratching his sleepy face.

"What's that?"

Kara eyed the cardboard package in her hands, which bore no return address. "I don't know. Have you been drunk shopping again?"

"I don't think so?" Mon-El yawned widely as he shuffled towards the coffee pot on the kitchen counter.

"You don't _think_ so?"

Mon-El shrugged. "Maybe it's a wedding gift. I don't know if you know this, Kara, but we're getting married in two days."

"I don't know if you know this, Mon-El, but the credit cards are for emergencies." Kara lowered her glasses, focusing her X-ray vision, and then frowned. "Huh."

"Problem?"

"It's lined with lead."

"That's, uh--"

"Not good. Maybe we should call the DEO." Kara placed the box on the floor at her feet, carefully angling it away from Mon-El. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Right as rai--"

Mon-El crumpled abruptly to the ground, and then the whole world went dark.

*

There was almost no light in the room when Kara awoke. She blinked as she adjusted her vision, lifting her head off the concrete floor, but there was nothing to see. Just four windowless walls, and Mon-El, lying in the middle of the room with his eyes closed.

"Mon-El!" Kara crawled over and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking desperately.

"Kara." Mon-El's eyes fluttered open, searching the room before he focused on her face. He groaned. His breath came in and out in short, tight gasps. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. I woke up right before you did. Someone's taken us prisoner."

"So. Not a wedding gift."

Kara made a small half-noise that was neither laughter nor tears. "This isn't funny."

"Sure it is. Our grandkids are going to find this story hilarious." Mon-El reached out, wrapping his fingers weakly around her own. "Can you get us out of here?"

"I don't know," Kara admitted. "I'm pretty sure there's kryptonite inside the walls."

"Along with the lead? Come on, that is not playing fair."

He was in pain, grunting in discomfort as he struggled to pull himself into a sitting position. Kara squeezed his hand tightly, before reluctantly letting go. "I'm going to go check the door, okay? I'll be right back."

There was enough of a gap around the door frame for Kara to identify rays of light, too weak to be outside daylight. There was no Earth-style door handle. Instead the door was barred by a panel, screen glowing with words in a language that Kara couldn't read She pushed weakly against the walls, but the combination of reinforced concrete and kryptonite remained resolutely in place. Kara pulled back, shaking out her burning palms. Then curled her hands into ready fists, as the door began to slide open with a series of beeps.

"You may as well give up, Kryptonian. I've been preparing for you for months."

Kara stared. The woman that entered their cell wore jeans and a denim jacket, with dark hair and features indistinguishable from that of a human. The rifle in her hands, however, was unmistakeably alien.

Kara stared at her. "Who are you?"

"Gleesian rum, with lemon juice." Mon-El pulled himself up to face their captor, his shoulders shaking from the effort. "I've seen you at the bar."

The alien acknowledged Mon-El's words with a slight nod. When she spoke her words vibrated in her throat, the pitch deeper than any human's. "I see I made an impression."

Mon-El answered with a shrug, casually dismissive. "Only because I've never met a woman that desperate before. You're the Aiogh who left that pod in the desert, right? I bet my mother sent you to lure me away from Kara."

"Wait, what? Lure?"

"I know, right?" Mon-El looked over at Kara, and she tried not to flinch at the pale blue tint visible in his cheeks. "You'd think she could have sent someone that was actually attractive."

The Aiogh raised her weapon, pointing it directly at Mon-El. Kara flung herself in his direction, but no shots ensued. The Aiogh thrust the rifle menacingly towards them both, growling. "Do not anger me."

"Or what?" Mon-El demanded.

Kara squared her shoulders, staring down the alien with as much defiance as she could muster. "Plan A didn't work. So what's plan B? You know that we're going to die if you leave us in here much longer."

"Yeah, and if that happens, I have to tell you, my mother is going to be angry."

The Aiogh turned a glare on Mon-El, anger shifting her eyes to an unexpected shade of orange. "Do not overestimate your mother's love for you, Prince."

"Never. But you know what has never let me down? Her desire to rule, despite the misogynistic laws on Daxam. My father's dead. If I die, my mother's out of male figureheads and the Daxamite throne is up for grabs."

The Aiogh's eyes flashed orange once more. "You lie."

"Are you willing to bet on that?" Kara asked. She inched closer to Mon-El, hoping that the short speech hadn't completely sapped his strength.

"My mother hates independent thinkers," Mon-El added. He coughed, wheezing lightly. "Refuses to pay them, usually. I would message her for further instructions right away, if I were you."

The alien mercenary let out a growl, then turned on her heels and left. The door panel beeped behind her, locks clanging into place.

Kara made a low noise of frustration, wishing she'd been strong enough to fight. "I can't believe it. This is your fault!"

"The last time you said that, you asked me to marry you." With his audience gone, Mon-El had slumped to the floor, gasping for air.

"Well, this time I'm going to do something much worse, mister. Look out." Kara made her way gingerly over to Mon-El, and placed a hand against his cheek. His skin was burning up with fever, but Kara knew she wasn't doing much better. "You could have told me that some strange, scary woman from the bar was hitting on you."

"Strange women hit on me all the time. I'm irresistible."

"Okay," Kara said, choking back a strangled laugh, "not helping."

"She must have panicked when I kept turning her down. Thought she had to stop the wedding any way that she could. Joke's on her, though, since we're already married."

Kara lay down next to him on the hard concrete floor, and rested her head against his shoulder. "Uh, I must be delirious from the kryptonite, because I thought you just said we're already married."

"Yeah? Daxamite marriage ceremonies are just an excuse to throw a party. Is it not like that on Krypton?" Mon-El's voice grew softer. "Under Daxamite law, we've been married since the twelfth morning we woke up together."

"Rao." Kara frowned. "Wait, is that why you made me those heart-shaped pancakes a few weeks ago?"

"It was our one year anniversary. And you like pancakes." Kara could feel Mon-El's heart beating in his right side, unsteady but still strong. His eyes searched her face, pupils struggling to focus. "At least I got to die married to you, right?"

"Stop it," Kara murmured, stroking his face. "Just stop. You're not going to die."

"I love that you're an optimist," Mon-El mumbled weakly. "I love everything about you, Kara Zor-El."

"I love you too," Kara said, as Mon-El closed his eyes.

*

For the second time in days, Kara woke up in an unexpected place. She struggled to orient herself as she rose out of unconsciousness, blinking against the bright glare of the sun lamps that surrounded her bed.

"Mom?" Her voice sounded weak, her mouth dry.

"Honey." Eliza rushed to Kara's side at the sound of her voice. "You're awake."

"Mon-El?" 

Eliza smiled at her. "Mon-El's right here."

"Draining the DEO's power reserves, as usual." Winn appeared in the doorway, grinning. "The way the lights have been flickering, he'll probably be awake any moment now."

"How did you find us?" Kara asked him.

"Well, funny thing about putting so much radioactive material in one place. It lit up my my screens like a bonfire."

"Kara?" 

All eyes turned towards Mon-El's bed as Mon-El shifted and stirred. Eliza moved over to his side of the room, and began frowning at the information displayed on the medical screen.

Kara took a deep breath and sat up, slipping off of her bed. She pulled away her sensor wires and padded over to Mon-El's bedside in her gown and bare feet. "I'm here," she said.

"You need to rest," Eliza protested.

"I feel fine, Mom." Kara leaned against Mon-El's bed, and took his hand.

"Okay," Winn said, pointing towards the door with both index fingers. "I think I'll let J'onn know you're awake. And James, and Alex. I think Alex might be a little mad at you, by the way? Just remind her that you almost died."

"Mad at me?"

"She's been worried about you. She had to make a lot of calls letting people know that we were canceling the wedding. I think Lois Lane yelled--." Eliza broke off, spotting the expression on Kara's face. "Honey, you've been out of commission for a couple days. The seventeenth has come and gone. We're going to have to plan something new."

"Don't worry. Alex put everyone on standby. We're going to whip up a new wedding and get the two of you hitched in no time." Winn flashed Kara and Mon-El a crooked peace sign as he left the room.

"Okay, um." Kara looked down at Mon-El, squeezing his fingers tightly. "There's a funny story about that, actually?"

end

**Author's Note:**

> I originally flaked on adding social media to this post, oops! I am trying to get in the habit. [here on tumblr](http://sweeter-than.tumblr.com/) or [here on dreamwidth](http://dirty-diana.dreamwidth.org/), come say hi!


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